"I'll give you a hand, Silver Blood," a voice said in his mind, and the only being who ever called him that formally is the Royal Blood vampire who was guarding Eona's thoughts.
Sin stared at Eona who is at the end of Rouen's hand. That is not the human girl they knew and Rouen must have immediately known the difference. Rouen is not letting go of her because the moment he did, the chains he used to keep the night walker who have controlled Eona's body in place will use that as a chance to escape. As long as the night walker won't be able to exit from Eona's thoughts, they will going to have a chance of finding who it was and that must have been the prince's purpose as to why he is not letting go of her.
Rouen is going to spill blood tonight. Sin is sure of it. And no one, not even the king himself, will be able to stop him.
"No, no, no! Please, I didn't mean to. Someone just asked me to hurt the girl in her sleep."
"Even if that is so, you have just made me your enemy. But you have nothing to worry about because I will make sure you will go down together with the one who asked you to do something unforgivable." Rouen whispered, but his voice couldn't be any less more threatening. It promised torture, it promised death.
With the use of Sorian's ability, he helped stabilize Eona who had been lost in her own subconscious. At the same time, Rouen restrained her body which is being controlled by someone in his hands, while Sin entered her thoughts.
"Sorian, how is she?"
"We needed to get her back at the soonest possible time. If not, we are going to lose her."
With the help of the Royal Blood who is keeping her thoughts sealed for some reason, Sin was able to enter Eona's subconscious without suffering the repercussions he suffered the first and second time he did. He glanced around, trying to pick up any possible tracks that could lead him to the night walker who is hurting Eona in her sleep. For vampires with an ability like them, when tracking, they can always find the one they are looking for through an aural thread - a yellow line which only they, as night walkers, can see because it leads only to the one who does the night walking. Somewhere within the victim's subconscious is where that thread lies and if he finds it, he'll be able to trace back who the culprit was.
The pitched black thoughts of the girl became a snowy ground. The first time it cleared, which was just the other night before, he ended up in a snowy place also, as if the season is a part of her. Does it somehow have to do with her past? He walked without any destination but took note of the places he had been until he saw blood giving color on the snow, tainting red on what was supposed to be just white. He decided to follow it and in the farthest part, in a place where the forest and a snow-covered meadow met, he saw her perched on a tree: her lips busted as if she had been hit there a few times, her face cut open like a blade was made to pass through her used to be clear skin and she is bleeding alone on her own from her abdomen. She looks like she was tortured to suffer and she is presently putting pressure on her lower abdomen, her hands now drenched in her own blood.
"You let this happen to her?! I thought you said you were guarding her?" Sin asked, flabbergasted, before he flashed right in front of Eona who was breathing through labor breaths.
His instinct as a vampire is trying to take over him because of her blood, but he tried not to let himself be lost in the scent. He could see she needed help, fast. But he doesn't know how to help her. Damn it! If only he had been blessed with the ability to heal like Sorian was, it would have come in handy. She is wounded. No wonder her real body suffers so much. They had literally tortured her in her sleep. She was stabbed a few times in places where she would surely experience agonizing pain and slowly bleed out to death. Why does she always end up in such situations ever since the night she and Rouen met, as if fate is playing with her own life while tormenting Rouen at the same time?
"I didn't have control over any of this."
"Can you… I don't know, heal her or something? Just stop her from bleeding out. Tracking will take time and she might not make it."
"Then you have to hurry and track the one who did this to her. Dark magic has been used to surpass the seal I placed in her mind to protect her," Aelvien answered. "Not unless I am by her side, I wouldn't be able to help her."
Sin's eyebrow furrowed in question. "Black magic? You mean that of a witch who has gone astray from their coven?"
"Most likely. I cannot help her directly because it is not me she is calling out to but your friend, the crown prince. And a witch has a hand in this, so I can't exactly use my abilities without causing a massive death in exchange."
"What do you mean massive death?"
"I can't tell who the caster was from here, though I have an idea. I might end up killing everyone who shares the same blood with the one who caused this incident if I used my blood's power."
Sin was dumbfounded. "You… can do that?"
He knew Pureblood vampires were in a league of their own, but among them were the Royal Bloods who could literally reshape the earth with the powers that lie in their blood. And the one he is talking to is one of those Royals. For him to be saying such things like it was such an easy thing to do, he must be really capable of doing it. Sin had never personally met a Pureblood, so he couldn't tell based on what he had just read from a book.
Sin checks on the girl who has just opened her eyes when she feels his presence near her. Her breathing is unstable and her fear is visible, as if she is expecting to see her tormentor again. The snow around her is now completely colored red with her own blood. Sin felt chills crawl on his entire being when he felt anger coming off from the link the Royal Blood established between them. His bloodlust is so strong that even he, as Silver Blood, felt suffocated. He had never felt an uncontrollable desire to kill this heavy, as if the one it is oozing from has the capability to erase every living being from all of the existing kingdoms at once. Who is he really in Eona's life? He would not have been protecting her without a certain reason, would he? Vampires like them don't give a hand without any explanation because they always do things for one or two reasons. That is what drives them to move forward in their never-ending existence.
"S-Sin?" Eona whispered when she recognized him.
"Stay still, Eona."
No wonder her real body is suffering. The night walker had tortured her here in a way that would lead her to death in the end, slowly, either here or in the real world.
"Rouen, where is h-he?"
He couldn't help himself but smile even at that crucial moment. The Royal Blood is right because the one she is calling out to was Rouen instead of him, her guardian. She really just had to look for the one who didn't have the ability to enter her thoughts, no matter how powerful he was.
"He's by your side," he answered her, but didn't tell her anything more.
Rouen knew every time she was in danger and she is unknowingly looking for him whenever she was. And to say they are not beloved? Damn those scripts and beliefs! Something must have just been intervening in between for them to not recognize each other. But even if that is so, they are still acting like they were destined for each other considering all of these obstacles in their lives. As Rouen's friend and as someone who has found a sister in the person of Eona, Sin wishes for them to end up with each other.
He can see how special their connection is, even if it is not that of a beloved's pull. Their souls call out to each other in a way that doesn't need the pull of a beloved. It may not be as strong, but it is there and no human and vampire has it but them. But wishing that would be selfish of him because he knew the fate of vampires like them. They will always choose the one who possesses the pull of a beloved, no matter how much they love the other at present. It is a curse in their lives that comes along with drinking blood.
"Silver Blood - "
"You have been calling me that for a while now. Can't you just call me by my name?"
"As you wish, Sin Edelweiss."
"Sin is enough. How formal do you really speak to people? It's as if you are the one standing at the top of our entire race who has chosen to stay away from every being by building a wall around him because of how heavy the burdens he bears. The one who had to look for the welfare of everyone while living his life in solitude, away from everybody else."
Aelvien did not say a word and Sin's eyes grew wide upon his own realization.
"Don't tell me you really are?!"
Sin immersed himself in his own thoughts. He is a Royal Blood. He can easily overpower vampires like him and Rouen and he can hide the fact that Rouen's blood is with Eona's from the vampire council members and the prince's parents. Does that mean he is what he thinks he is? The only Royal Blood written in the book hidden in their archives?
His silence just confirmed his suspicion.
"You're the Monarch, Aelvien Landegrei?! But you're supposed to be - "
"Dead. I know." Aelvien cut him off.
Because no one found his body during and even more than a thousand years after the Blood War, people who knew he existed once considered and declared him dead for reasons according to what they imagined. The Northernheim Palace was left unattended and up until now he is sure that the remnants of what exactly happened there during the war are still visible to those who have lingered in that place. Same as well with Blaze, who took the death they gave him to his advantage. He didn't show himself to Tempestra after he awakened from his long sleep and he just let the Great Wolves and their descendants believe in anything they had read about what happened to him. No wonder they were friends even if they belonged to different races.
"We were just keeping ourselves low for us to be able to handle things all at once. Our responsibilities aren't, after all, just for the benefit of the race where we belong."
"Then why are you telling me all this? I am from the lower vampire society, one which I'm sure you knew despises the existence of Purebloods."
"Do you really want to know? It might change the relationship between you and the young prince. Because not only do we know what lies in the prince's future but also in the Silver Blood who has been walking alongside him from childhood, you."
"What?"
"I know you won't say a word about me because if you ever planned to do so, you would have spilled everything you know either to Cohen Lohengrin or to Rouen Einzbern after you had first met me but you chose not to say a word. And if they have your mind ordered to be read, I won't allow it because, as you can see, I am protecting the girl. Once they learn about me through you, they will want to know about my connection with the girl and I cannot allow that to happen because she is much more important than everything else that ever came to exist in this world. You, Sin, are among the chess pieces that needed to move without our interference in order for her timeline to flow and at the right time, you will know as to why I have made contact with you."
Sin was literally speechless. He is having conversations with the Monarch himself - someone whom he only just read about in the books hidden in the archives owned by the kingdom when he was young. He did not even take it to heart when Aelvien literally compared him to a chess piece, one which can be considered disposable once used because, with their difference in status, the Monarch had all the right to say it. But he knew it wasn't what the Monarch meant. If he is alive, then all the rest of the Noble Bloods must still be alive, contrary to their beliefs that they have long been gone after the Blood War and that their country, Elysia, is still out there somewhere hidden away from outsiders' prying eyes.
Damn it! Why did their lives get so complicated? If the vampires in Aceldama get to learn about the Purebloods, it might cause another war, one which will be just between their races. They, as vampires from the lower vampire society, hated the names and existence of those who had cursed them to live forever in the dark while being dependent on living beings' blood. It wasn't their intention to become one, they are forced to live their lives as one.
"We cannot spend any more minutes than we have because the seal on her might undo itself while this girl is still in control of someone else. If that happens, the whole kingdom of Aceldama will be put in danger no one ever expected to happen along with everything else outside it."
"What do you mean in danger? Is there something going on with Eona that you are not telling me?"
Aelvien ignored him completely and instead instructed him what to do with the situation they had at hand. "Sin, track the power which has taken control of this girl and I will help enhance your ability to your full capacity. I will forcefully awaken the extent of your ability just because I needed it."
Sin bit his lip. With him ignoring his questions, he knew Aelvien had chosen not to tell him anything about his query, so he decided not to pry any further. If Aelvien wanted to tell him something, he would do so without him asking for details. He noticed that the Monarch does not call Eona by her name. In fact, he has never called her by it, even once, ever since he met him, which made him think he really is hiding something about the human girl. What really is their connection with each other? A vampire, one that is of Royal Blood, wouldn't have been protecting a girl, one that is a natural just because. He is sure it was due to a deeper reason than any of them could comprehend.
When Sin stared at Eona's eyes, a series of curses occupied his thoughts when he saw that the aural thread he is looking for is not in her subconscious world but within herself.
"Now you have to undergo another pain because of me," he whispered to her before he focused his attention back to Aelvien who is communicating with him through telepathy. "I have found the thread that will connect me to the one who did this to her. The caster will obviously fight me off and our powers might clash. I will be facing a night walker after all, someone who has the same ability as me. Is Eona going to be alright?"
"I will have to make it so that she will."
Sin looked down at Eona. His heart was beating at a rapid rate because he couldn't tell if she would be able to bear the pain he is about to cause her. "I'm sorry, this will hurt for a while. Grit your teeth if you have to," he said to her as he placed his right hand on her forehead while his left restrained her hands on her abdomen before his forest green eyes glistened, a sign that his ability is in use.
He didn't even give her the time to catch a breath. Eona immediately felt like her head is being cracked open with how much pain she is feeling when Sin started tracing the aural thread that was hidden within her instead of her subconscious. She screamed out loud but Sin did not let go of her. Instead, he pinned her on the ground to keep her from moving. This is what he doesn't like whenever he is tracking a person, because it will cause the victim more pain than the one she is presently experiencing.
While Sin followed the instructions of the Monarch and is doing what needs to be done inside Eona's subconscious, everyone was left waiting for his return to Eona's room in the Crystal Manor. She is still being restrained by the prince, who looks like he doesn't have any intention of letting her go of her neck.
"Your highness, the girl has been bleeding for a long time. Is she going to make it?"
Sorian is worried. It had been half an hour since Sin entered Eona's thoughts to find out who had taken control over her body and he had not returned yet. Eona, who was silent and unmoving, is still at the mercy of Rouen after he had pushed her on the wall to keep her from doing something out of the ordinary but it has been a while since she started bleeding out from her nose and mouth as if she's suffering from internal hemorrhage. Even with his ability, he could not completely heal her if she is still under someone's control.
The night walker who had taken control of her must have wished for her to die slowly and by looking at her, Sorian can imagine how much she had suffered in her own dreams due to a vampire's ability. Their race could really be vicious and Eona just had to experience it on her own just because she got too close to their kind. It was actually quite surprising that she lasted this long because no human being ever lasted under a vampire's ability like she does. On a normal occurrence, she would have been long dead.
Rouen knew the vampires around them were trying to keep their attention away from her because of her blood. He, too, is having a hard time controlling himself because the scent of her blood is enticing him to have a taste. It wanted him to bite her neck right on the spot and to add to his suffering, his left hand that held her neck had blood covering it - his white gloves already tainted with red. But his first priority is to keep her safe and that is what's keeping him sane at the moment. He is actually quite amazed with himself because even if he wanted to have a taste of her blood, even if he has been dying to run his tongue through her bloodied neck and have his fangs pierce her flesh, he still has the strength to divert his attention away from it.
"Just stabilize her vitals for now and keep her from bleeding out to death. I cannot let go of her because she is still under the control of whoever it was that dared to do this to her. They might make her do something that would end her life for real and it would be too late. How is Sin?"
Sorian glanced at where Sin was. He is still lying on the divan, unmoving. "He is… still not back yet."
Rouen frowned. What's keeping his friend for so long? He knew how capable Sin is when it comes to using his ability and for him to be taking this long to track down the other night walker must have meant that the vampire who caused Eona harm had received help from another being.
The woman in front of him stared directly into his eyes. He hated how another person used Eona this way. Her purple colored eyes change from amethyst to a color that doesn't belong to her and he despises it because it only reminds him that another being has taken control of her body. He knew that this is her, but at the same time not, and that is what's keeping him torn. There were even times when the color of her eyes seemed to have specs of red, but he ignored it, thinking it must be because she is still under the control of someone else.
"Your highness…"
He tightened his hold onto her neck, which made her wince in pain.
"Shut up, woman. Nothing you say right now will ever make me change my mind. I will find you and I will kill you in cold blood," was all he said.
He glanced in the direction of his friend Sin who is still there on the divan like he is just sleeping. It is the only repercussion of his ability, because every time he uses it, his real self is completely vulnerable to anyone that wants to cause him harm. If he comes back unsuccessful, they will have to restrain Eona using other means because they need to find who has taken control of her first before they can do something to help her.
"Rouen…" she whispered into his thoughts.
He looked back at Eona, whose white blonde hair is now starting to have a black highlight while the red in her eyes are now becoming more prominent. What is going on now? She looks like she is totally becoming someone else. Does a vampire who have the ability to completely overtake someone's body exist?
"Rouen…"
"I'm here, precious," he whispered to her, though his lips didn't part as he said those words to her.
She was talking to him telepathically and he answered in the same way while ignoring the fact that she, as a human being, should not possess the ability to use such a method of communication.
"Help me…" She begged as she sobbed.
Rouen felt helpless. What is the use of being awakened if he could not even help her when she needed him? He didn't know how to help her. He had never experienced this in his entire lifetime and he just had to experience being helpless whenever her life is put in danger. He knew he is powerful, but how come he becomes powerless whenever it comes to her? Why did this have to happen again? This is the third time that she bled ever since they met and it is not even that long yet when they first saw each other. It's as if his awakening upon her arrival is in exchange for her life being put into continuous danger from that moment on. No matter how much she pleaded, he could not give her a hand, he could not ease her pain and suffering. And knowing that the only thing he can do right now is to locate the ones who did this to her and make them pay for what they have done makes him hate himself.
"Am I going to die?"
He shook his head 'no' but he knew she couldn't see him. He couldn't explain as to how she could talk to him through telepathy, but he knew that is all there is to it.
"No, you are not."
"I'm bleeding out."
"You'll be fine, gem. I will make sure of it."
Eona cried in his thoughts. "The woman said I s-should blame myself. T-that I should have stayed away from you. S-she said it's my punishment f-for being close to you. I'm dying and I d-don't even k-know where I am. What did I even do wrong?"
"You're here with me, precious. You're here with me… And believe me, you did not do anything wrong."
From looking over at Sin, Sorian whisked his head in the prince's direction when he heard him sob and his eyes grew wide when he saw tears rolling down his face. He just never expected to witness that. Rouen's left hand still held Eona by the neck while his right is fisted next to her head. Sorian could not believe it. Their prince didn't mind looking helpless in their eyes just because he had a hard time saving the girl in front of him.
Cohen and the rest remained speechless. They even awkwardly focused their attention on something else, away from the bleeding girl, away from the grieving prince. There were no right words to say at that time. Rouen teared down the wall he had put around him just because of one human girl. Their relationship couldn't have just been a simple fling, is it? Rouen couldn't have been acting this way if it was. Sorian bit the insides of his cheek. Oh, god! Rouen is serious when he said someone had already claimed his heart and it was Eona whose life is presently on the line right now.
"Damn you, Sin!" Rouen whispered as he glared at his friend, but he is aware that everybody else aside from Helena heard him. "How long do you think it will take for you to find them?"
Not even a minute after that when Sin awakened and sat up with a gasp. Without sparing a second, he flashed right beside Eona, his forest green eyes were glistening as he touched her forehead, making the one who has control over Eona's body scream in pain. One which only Sin can do is hurt anyone, even in their wake, as long as he knows who his targets are.
Sin smiled sinisterly at the woman who had Eona in her control. "Greetings, Thalicia of the fallen House of Kleist!"
She stopped breathing as her eyes grew wide. "S-Sin Edelweiss?"
He, too, is friends with the human girl? How come nobody told her anything of that fact when it was the most important information of all, because if she had known that the heir of the Edelweiss Duchy had come home together with the crown prince, she wouldn't have touched the girl whom Rouen is getting close to. Her being a night walker who has less experience of using her ability compared to him, fears Sin, who shares the same ability as hers more than the prince.
He had been tracing her back while the prince had her chained and she is not even aware that he had entered the girl's thoughts too, even with her still being there? She gulped when fear she had never felt before, fell into her like a waterfall. These two are surely going to have her killed.
"It is nice to know that you, being a member of a fallen house, have again done something so unforgivable. You have been lying low for a long time but I guess you cannot remove it in your blood - the urge to betray the kingdom. Or is it that you did something without the knowledge of your family's current head? That would be a very dumb idea. Because if that is so, they will surely hand you over to us without any resistance."
"No! That is not true! Please, I won't do it again."
"Because you wouldn't be able to," Sin whispered threateningly to her. "Send our regards to Felicity Elfenbrehm. I guess her unjust jealousy has finally pushed her to do some drastic things that have put her own house to shame. Do you really think we wouldn't be able to find out if you did something to endanger this girl's life with the help of a fallen witch? Your mistake is that you followed Felicity's every word. But you must have wanted to do it on your own because you wanted to make use of your ability by trying to hurt the lady Rouen cares about so much, for you too, holds affection towards him which he so coldly shrugged off in return. It doesn't matter to you if a member of another family orders you around, all you care about is you showing how strong you are to the person who you harbor ill intention towards. I am just quite sad that you seemed to have forgotten about my existence - the Silver Blood, a night walker who has always been by the prince's side."
"F-forgive me. I beg of you. I didn't have any other choice but to follow what Lady Felicity said."
"Do you think we give a damn after everything you have done? You hit her a few times, etched a wound on her face using a blade and stabbed her in her sleep multiple times. Are you aware of how heavy those sins are?"
Rouen looks at Sin whose anger is visibly showing. He gritted his teeth as he hissed, his wrath growing by the second. He could not believe what he heard. They have done those things to her? The dukes noticed the sudden change in his aura and they felt chills draped over them all due to fear.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
